Due to the contact shapes of a head and body in contact with pillow and mattress changes with sleeping pose, it is difficult to have a pillow/mattress fit and provide a comfortable support during various sleeping poses, even for a normal healthy person.
It is even worse for a person suffering from chronic back or neck pain; he or she is often is unable to sleep comfortably, and may not be able to recline on a traditional mattress and pillow without great discomfort. Even if a person suffering from such ailments is able to fall asleep, unavoidable movement during sleep can exacerbate an underlying ailment and wake the individual. Similarly, a patient suffering from trauma such as a burn, or recovering from surgery, may suffer great discomfort caused by shifting body and head position on a traditional mattress and pillow. Improper body positioning can cause serious risk to an injured or post-surgical patient, for example, by exacerbating a wound through undesirable rubbing against a mattress or pillow surface or by otherwise creating conditions that may give rise to infection. In neonatal and other critical care settings, improper patient positioning on a mattress can prove life-threatening.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,385,803 (“'803 Patent”) discloses one of many methods or systems that attempt to provide improved means to support a body. The '803 Patent discloses a method and apparatus for supporting the body of a patient. The apparatus disclosed is a support device essentially comprising only at least one closed or controlled-release chamber together with inlet and outlet means by which a filling fluid can be fed in or removed, and an independent control device which is disposed under the support device. The control device comprises filling and emptying means for filling the chamber with filling fluid or for emptying said fluid there from and control means for controlling feeding in and removing the filling fluid. This apparatus and system is understood to measure body penetration into a support chamber and adjust such penetration independent of a user's body position. The system and apparatus of the '803 Patent are understood to use servo control techniques to control the user's body penetration.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,421,858 (“'858 Patent”) discloses a mattress having at least one cushion element which is adapted to be inflated with a pumpable filling medium and a device for regulating the pressure of said filling medium in said cushion element, said device being equipped with a control in which at least one of filling pressure values and at least one arithmetical operation for determining a filling pressure value are predetermined or programmed.
Despite available apparatus and systems, the need continues to exist for a mattress and pillow system and related apparatus that will facilitate real-time optimization of the contour of the mattress and a pillow based on a user's position. The need for such a system and apparatus is particularly acute in the health care field, where currently available beds, mattresses, pillows, or stretchers or examining or surgical tables, may cause great discomfort to a patient. A system that facilitates real-time optimization of the contour of the mattress and a pillow based on a user's position could greatly enhance the safety of patients in neonatal and other critical care settings.